News flash from Morristown: Bacon is good for you

The Bacon Brotherssizzled on Sunday at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center, entertaining a large crowd for more than 90 minutes with well crafted original rock tunes spanning 19 years and seven albums.

An eighth CD, 36 Cents, is scheduled for imminent release, and it’s going to be good, if the title song–Michael’s tongue-in-cheek reflection on the unsung lives of songwriters– and 493 Miles, Kevin’s musing about the sudden shock of empty nesting, are representative.
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Kevin Bacon, 56, is known to movie and TV audiences for his roles in Footloose, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13,JFK, Frost/Nixon and most recently, The Following on Fox.

His older brother Michael has won Emmys as a composer for films and television. Recent credits include Good Fortune — The Story of Morgenthau and an HBO documentary about Texas Governor Ann Richards.

This was our first chance to see them play together and, admittedly, curiosity was a factor: Were these guys a novelty act?

But the Philly sibs delivered the goods, with help from bandmates Paul Guzzone on bass guitar and backing vocals; Joe Mennonna on keyboards and accordion; Frank Vilardi on drums; and Ira Siegel on lead guitar, mandolin, and backing vocals.

Michael and Kevin Bacon at the Mayo in Morristown. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Michael introduced a meandering new composition, Two Rivers, and the set list included Bunch of Words, Grace, Wild Life, Strung Out and Wonderful Day.

The evening’s covers were memorable, too. The brothers ended the first half with a rocking version of Alanis Morissette’s You Learn. (Maybe Alanis will return the compliment by covering a BB song when she plays the Mayo on July 25?)

Accompanying himself on cello, Michael gave a textured interpretation of James Taylor’s Rainy Day Man. And the Bacon band had fun during encores with The Band’s Up On Cripple Creek.